Method and system for sorting spherical articles

ABSTRACT

A system and method for sorting spherical articles from a bulk supply of articles is disclosed in a preferred embodiment wherein spheres of a generally uniform size are fed from a bulk supply source to a separator hopper which separates out non-spherical and foreign materials by use of a series of curved equally spaced guides nested in an enclosure whereby over sized foreign materials particularly those of substantial length are restricted and the spherical articles are passed to a metering orifice having as a lower margin a flexible rough surfaced belt driven to transport the passed material to a grading bar. The grading bar is positioned above the belt a distance slightly less than the diameter of the spherical articles to allow under sized and nonrolling material to pass thereunder as the belt travels beneath the grading bar while spherical articles are advanced by engagement with the grading bar in a single file to a collection point.

United States Patent [191 Hite et al.

[451 Jan. 9, 1973 [54] METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SORTING SPHERICAL ARTICLES[75] Inventors: Edward Lee IIlte, Toledo; Dennis Lee Ramge, Waterville;Andre Roelf De Mulnck, Defiance, all of Ohio [73] Assignee:Johns-Manvllle Corporation, New

York,N.Y.

[22] Filed: Jan. 21, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 108,450

521 u'.s.cl..'. ..209/73, 209/74, 209/80, 209/100, 209/356 [51] Int.Cl...B07b 13/04 [58] Field of Search....209/100, 103, 90, 82, 71, 356,209/362, 80, 93,123, 73; 193/28, 31

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 91,303 1/1938 Sweden ..209/90 PrimaryExaminer-Allen N. Knowles Attorney-John A. McKinney and Robert Krone[57] ABSTRACT A system and method for sorting spherical articles from abulk supply of articles is disclosed in a preferred embodiment whereinspheres of a generally uniform size are fed from a bulk supply source toa separator hopper which separates out non-spherical and foreignmaterials by use of a series of curved equally spaced guides nested inan enclosure whereby over sized foreign materials particularly those ofsubstantial length are restricted and the spherical articles are passedto a metering orifice having as a lowermargin a flexible rough surfacedbelt driven to transport the passed material to a grading bar. Thegrading bar is positioned above the belt a distance slightly less thanthe diameter of the spherical articles to allow under sized andnon-rolling material to pass thereunder as the belt travels beneath thegrading bar while spherical articles are advanced by engagement with thegrading bar in a single file to a collection point.

27 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAM 9 1915 3,709,327

SHEET 1 BF 2 INVENTORS EDWARD L. HITE DENNIS L. RAMGE ANDRE R. DEMUINCKATTORNEYS PATENTEUJMI 9 I975 3,709,327

SHEET2UF2 I: I 3 INVENTORS EDWARD L, HITE DENNIS L. RAMGE ANDRE R.DEMUINCK ATTORNEYS METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SORTING SPHERICAL ARTICLESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION supply of glass marbles frequently containshalf marbles and chips therefrom which can cause jams stopping marbleflow. Other foreign materials have been known to find their way into thebulk supply, for example, weld rod. Foreign materials which reach theglass melting apparatus can disrupt the melt and often plug the orificesfrom which the melted glass is drawn. Disruptions of the above naturecause an uneven quantity of glass to flow resulting in an inferiorfibrous glass product.

To overcome the above difficulties, the glass marbles were separatedfrom the other materials in the bulk supply by passing the mixture overgrid bars or screens which were patterned and sized to allow chips andhalf marbles to drop through while passing the marbles on for furtherprocessing.

The apparatus and method disclosed herein improves on previous methodsand apparatus for sorting glass marbles and articles of a sphericalshape. Nonrolling articles are readily discerned from rolling orspherical articles and used as one means to separate spherical articlesfrom a product mix. Foreign materials previously undiscernable in theprior art methods are separated out by the present system and the flowof spherical articles through the system is controllable to meter thequantity of spherical articles flowing.

SUMMARY The present method and system relates to sorting and meteringspherical articles and more particularly to sorting and metering glassmarbles from a product mix. The product mix is supplied from a supplysource to an enclosure open at two ends having within it a maze ofnested guides forming curved paths which the product mix must follow inflowing through the enclosure. Elongated materials of sufficient lengthcannot negotiate the curved path of the guides in the enclosure and areretained at the entry of the enclosure from which they can be removedsince it is open. At the exit of the enclosure, the product mix andmarbles therein are deposited on conveying means, illustrated as acontinuous moving belt in the preferred embodiment and exit theenclosure through an orifice framed by margins on the enclosure andconveying or transporting means. The marbles exit the enclosure ingenerally rank configuration with the remainder of the mix intermingledtherebetween. The belt transports the product mix to a deflecting meanspreferably a grading bar which is positioned above and oblique to thedirection of the conveying means with sufficient clearance to pass apredetermined size of under sized materials such as half marbles, whilerestraining the marbles. Non rolling material of a size exceeding theclearance of the grading bar is gripped firmly enough by the belt toforce the material beneath the grading bar by deflecting the grading barand/or the belt. The restrained marbles are then deflected along thegrading bar to a collection point by virtue of the angularity of thegrading bar with respect to the direction of movement of the belt whileat the same time the combined rolling'and sliding action imparted to themarbles by belt and grading bar result in a single file configuration ofthe marbles along the grading bar. The remainder of the product mixretained on the belt is transported to a collection point separate fromthat of the marbles.

The above method and system is one capable of sorting out non rolling aswell as undersized and foreign materials from a product mix. Further,half marbles and chips which can cause jams stopping marble flow areeliminated, and disruptions in the melted glass from foreign material isavoided. Thus, the system helps achieve a more uniform product offibrous glass of a high quality. The system and method are moreefficient than prior grid bar screening, and the flow through the systemis metered at the same time the sorting occurs with the capability todeliver one marble at a time increasing metering accuracy over the blastgate control.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of thesorter being fed from a storage bin by an intermediate trough conveyor;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sorter with the storage bin and troughconveyor removed;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the sorter taken along line3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the sorter takenalong line 44 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 anelevational view of the preferred embodiment of the sorter isillustrated consisting of a structural frame 12 which supports a drivenbelt 14 located beneath a separator hopper 16. The separator hopper 16is fed from the supply bin 18 by means of trough 20 extendingtherebetween.

In the sorting process the supply bin holds a mix of glass marbles, halfmarbles, chips of marbles and possible foreign materials, for example,weld rod, all of which flow from the supply bin 18 down the trough 20which may be vibrated by any conventional means, for example, pneumaticcylinders, to facilitate flow of the mix to the separator hopper 16.Upon entering the separator hopper 16, the materials are caused to flowbetween a series of guides which restrict the flow of materials havingan elongated shape, such as the above weld rod, while allowing theremainder of the mix to be metered through an orifice 22 at the bottomof the separator hopper l6 and pass onto the moving belt 14. Upper runof belt 14 moves in the direction of arrow A so that the mix is carriedby the belt 14 toward the grading bar 24 (best illustrated in FIG. 2)which engages the glass marbles thereby deflecting them to the margins26 of the belt 14 where they are collected in feeder chute 28 from whichthey pass on for further processing in the production of fibrous glassproducts. Chips and non spherical articles are passed beneath thegrading bar 24 and carried by the belt 14 to the reject chute 30. In theprocess, only spherical marbles are passed to the feeder chute 28 tocontinue on to the melters.

The system for sorting and metering can be fed by any convenient sourceof supply of mix and intermediate transfer means taking the place of thesupply bin 18 and trough 20 communicating with separator hopper 16.Likewise the blast gate 32 illustrated at the discharge end of thetrough 20 can be replaced with other means, for example, a swinging gateor driven paddle wheel, to achieve the rough regulation of flow of mixand/or to supplement the flow regulation of the orifice on the separatorhopper 16.

FIG. 3 illustrates the separator hopper or hopper l6 and orifice 22 ingreater detail. Except for the 45 lip 34 (see FIG. 1) which accommodatesthe trough, the upper portion of the enclosure is rectangular in shapewhen viewed from the top. The bottom portion has two tapered sides 36 at45 angles to the vertical center line of the hopper l6 and convergingtoward each other. For processing three-fourths inch diameter marbles,these converging tapered sides 36 terminate approximately inch from eachother to form two sides of an opening in the bottom of the hopper 16.The other two sides of the bottom portion of the hopper 16 are parallelto the vertical center line and each other, and thus complete therectangular frame for the hole in the bottom of the hopper. The side ofthe hopper 16 facing in the direction of flow is cut back from thebottom edge to create an orifice 22 between the belt 14 and the top ofthe slot 38 thus created when the hopper 16 is properly positioned abovethe belt 14. A divider bar 39 having a three-fourths inch square crosssection is affixed to the hopper 16 at the bottom opening to divide boththe bottom opening and the orifice 22. With the divider bar 39 in placethere is ample clearance to pass two three-fourths inch diameter marbleson both sides of the divider bar 39. It has been found that with the topof the slot 38 located approximately 1% inch above the top of the belt14, four marbles at a time are discharged with the advance of belt l4froifrthe hopper 16 in a generally rank formation. These dimensions aswell as the size of the hopper can be adjusted to accommodate other sizemarbles and clearly the hopper is suitable for sorting any sphericalitems not just glass marbles. The hopper 16 is open at the top toreceive the flow of mix thereto. Guides 42 extend across the narrowdimension of the hopper 16 and are affixed to the sides of the hopper 16against which they abut. The guides 42 of the preferred embodiment arein the form of segments of concentric right circular cylinders equallyspaced over the internal length of the hopper 16 from a right circularcylinder 40 located on the vertical centerline of the hopper 16. Theguides 42 are confined by the insides of the hopper l6 and extend overboth the upper and lower portions thereof. The entry ends 48 of theguides are arranged to fall on a line having an approximately 64 anglewith the vertical centerline of the hopper 16 in both directions fromthe guide closest to the cylinder 40 outward and upward. The guides 42farthest from the cylinder 40 have a plate 44 the width of which fallsupon the above line, thereby closing over the opening between theseguides 42 and the adjacent sides of the hopper 16. With the aboveconfiguration at the entry end 48 of the guides 42 the mix entering thehopper 16 is prevented from wedging between the outermost guides 42 andthe hopper 16 while being deflected inward for distribution over all theguides 42. The exit ends 46 of the guides are positioned approximatelytangent to the tapered sides 36 of the hopper 16 for a smooth transitionof the mix flow from the guides 42 to the hopper 16.

The nesting of the guides 42 create curved paths which the mix mustfollow if it is to pass through the hopper 16. For three-fourths inchdiameter marbles it has been found that a 1 /4 inch wide path betweeneach of the guides is adequate. Guides 42 are arrayed so that nostraight passage exists through the maze they form. That is, a chordfrom the upper lip 48 to the lower lip 46 of any of the guide elements42 other than the central cylinder will intersect the wall of the nextguide element 42 or 40 inward therefrom. This limitation can be relaxedto the extent that the guide elements can be oriented so that parallelplanes can be defined by the upper and lower lips 48 and 46 of a firstguide element 42 for a first plane and a tangent to the outer surface ofthe next guide element 42 or 40 inward therefrom for a second planeprovided the first plane is spaced outward from the second plane lessthan the thickness of the thinest straight element of length exceedingthe longest chord to be separated from the flow of spheres. Theelongated material of the rod nature cannot negotiate the curved pathbetween the guides 42 and, therefore, is retained at the top of thehopper 16. Since the hopper 16 is open at the top the retained materialscan be readily removed.

If a distance is maintained between the parallel sides of the hopper 16which is slightly less than the above lengthof the longest chord, thestraight element will be prevented from passing through the guides 42 byorienting itself with its longitudinal axis parallel to the axis of thecylinder 40 to thereby pass between the guides 42.

The present concept is not limited to the preferred embodimentillustrated, rather the rectangular shape of the hopper 16 andcylindrical shape of the guides 42 are convenient shapes. A round hopperwould also be functional and any configuration of guides 42 which arenested to create curved paths suitable for flow of spherical articleswhile restraining elongated materials will meet the requirements.Further, the spacing of the guides 42 in the maze can be varied,particularly where the inner guide elements 42 are spaced greater thanthe outer elements 42, provided the minimum spacing exceeds the maximumsphere diameter to be passed. The cylindrical plates of the preferredembodiment are 16 gauge stellite, but other suitable gauges andmaterials may be used.

Adjustment of the hopper 16 for proper orifice 22 size is obtained bythe slotted apertures 50 of attachment plates 52 which allow the spacingof the hopper 16 from the belt 14 to be adjusted. The attachment plates52 are bolted to the frame 12, illustrated in H6. 1, and support thehopper 16 through the interconnecting structural angles 54.

To increase the efficiency of flow of the mix through the hopper 16, avibrator 58 can be added thereto, for example, a Pulsating Magnet"Electric Vibrator, Syntron Model V-ZO.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the system with the trough 20 and supply bin 18removed, and best illustrates the grading bar 14. The grading bar 24 isof a v" shape extending from the divider bar 39 outwardly at a 45 angleto the direction of flow and passing over the feeder chutes 28 locatedat the margins of the belt 14.

The grading bar 24 is positioned above the surface of the belt 14 adistance slightly less than the diameter of the marbles by rods 60bolted to clips 62 and 64 attached to the frame 12 and hopper 16respectively.

Springs 66 on the rods 60 can be used to allow the grading bar todeflect upward to pass oversized non rolling articles thereunder. Whileother shapes of grading bars 24 can be used and the angle of the v"shaped grading bar 24 can be varied over a wide range, the 45 angle of av shaped bar is preferred for optimum flow of spherical articles andsorting of oversized non rolling articles. 1

The marbles released from the orifice 22 in generally rank configurationare carried by the belt 14 to be engaged by and deflected along thegrading bar 24 to the feeder chute 28. The action of the marblesresulting from the combination of being driven by the belt 14 anddeflected by the grading bar 24 is one of rolling and sliding to form asingle file of marbles along both legs of the v shaped grading bar 24.The release of. a generally rank configuration of marbles from theorifice 22 combined with the single file advancement of the marblesalong the grading bar 24 results in an accurately metered flow ofmarbles to the feeder chute 28.

The ability to pass oversized non rolling articles beneath the gradingbar 24 is due to the flexible, rough surface of the belt 14. As bestillustrated in FIG. 1, the belt 14 is a continuous loop drivencontinuously by drive drum 68 rotatably mounted on the structural frame12 by the bearings 70 which support its shaft 72. The other end of'theloop of belt 14 passes around an idler drum 74 supported in a mannersimilar to the drive drum 68 having takeup bearing blocks 71 to allowproper tension to be applied to the belt. An example of belt having theflexibility and surface roughness required is neoprene surface conveyorbelting used in inclined conveyors. The belt 14 has flexure normal toits surface and a high coefficient of friction causing non rollingarticles to follow the direction of the belt 14 which has firm contactwith them while rolling articles, i.e., the spherical articles, arerotated upon contact with the grading bar 24 giving them greater freedomwhich allows them to move along the grading bar 24.

As in the case of the hopper 16, the grading bar 24 and belt 14combination can be adjusted to accommodate other sized articles as wellas being capable of handling spherical articles other than glassmarbles.

FIGS. 1 and 2 also illustrate side guards 76 for retaining all articlesupon the belt located at the margins thereof between the feeder chute 28and hopper 16. A guard 78 encloses the idler drums 74 and the rejectchute 30 guards the drive drum 68 with both guard 78 and reject chute 30being mounted on the structural frame 12. Also mounted on the structuralframe 12 is the motor-reducer 80 providing power for driving the drivedrum 68 through a chain and sprocket set 82. Other drive means could beused, e.g., a hydraulic motor.

The belt 14 is supported by a bed plate 84 which extends over both thewidth and the upper length of the belt 14 between the drive and idlerdrums 68 and 74. The bed plate 84 has a cut-away 86 indicated by hiddenlines in FIG. 2, in the area directly beneath the grading bar 24 and thelip 38 defining the upper margin of orifice 22. Since the belt 14 isflexible, over-sized articles passing the orifice 22 or grading bar 24can deflect the belt 14 into and below the plane of the bed plate atthese points when additional clearance is required.

FIG. 4 illustrates the cut-away 86 beneath the spring loaded grading bar24 as described above. The spring loaded grading bar 24 and cut-away 86in the bed plate can be used alone or together as required by the typeand size spherical articles to be processed. The deflection of the beltis shown in phantom as well as a threequarter inch marble to show itsrelationship to the grading bar 24. The grading bar is shown in crosssection as being generally rectangular with the lower corner facing inthe direction of flow of the belt out off to form a quick relief plane88 to articles passing beneath the bar which contact it in passing. Fora three-quarter inch spherical article and its mix it was found that acutaway 86 of three inch width below the grading bar and 4 inch widthbeneath the orifice 22 are suitable.

Other shapes of grading bars may be used, for example, a straight roundbar.

In describing the operation of the above system, it is assumed that thesupply bin 18 is filled with a product mix of glass marbles, halfmarbles, marble chips, materials of generally marble size which arenonrolling, e.g., marbles with flat areas, and elongated materials, forexample, weld rod having a long length as compared to its smalldiameter. The product mix is transferred from the supply bin 18 by thetrough 20, which may be vibrated to aid the flow of material, past theblast gate 32, where rough metering can be accomplished as required, andinto the separator hopper 16. In the hopper 16, all the materials of theproduct mix are directed by gravity through the curved paths between theguides 42 and released generally tangential to the tapered sides 36 ofthe lower portion of the hopper 16 except the elongated materials.Elongated materials, such as weld rod, are retained by the hopper 16because the width or thickness of the material is greater than theclearance between the ends 46 and 48 of the guides 42 and the point ofcurvature of the inwardly adjacent guide 42 closest to a line passingthrough both ends 46 and 48 of the guides, thereby preventing theelongated material from dropping directly through the hopper 16. Whenthe elongated material enters the hopper 16 with its end oriented topass through a path between the guides 42 and attempts to follow thecurved path its length is sufficient to cause it to wedge between theguides which have a curvature sufficient to prevent all elongatematerials of a predetermined length and longer from negotiating thepath. The remainder of the mix passes through the hopper 16, which alsocan be vibrated to aid flow of mix therethrough, by passing throughorifice 22. Use of a v" shaped grading bar 24 can be augmented by adivider bar 39 in the center of the orifice 22 to divide the mix flow.The divider bar 39 extends across the bottom of the hopper 16 thusdividing the flow of mix approaching the orifice 22. Two marbles ingenerally rank configuration pass from each side of the divider bar 39through the orifice 22, the flow being metered by proper sizing of theorifice 22. The marbles are caused to flow through the orifice 22 by acombination of the head of material in the hopper l6 and the movement ofthe belt 14 which contacts the marbles in the bottom opening of thehopper 16. The marbles, upon exiting the orifice 22 are transported bythe belt along with any intermingled mix such as foreign material, chipshalf marbles, and marbles having flat surfaces toward the grade bar 24.All undersized materials in the mix are further transported by the belt14 beneath the grading bar 24, which is set at a predetermined clearanceabove the belt 14, to a reject chute 30. Only two materials of theoriginal product mix remain, the marbles and material of a size largeenough not to pass freely under the grading bar 24 which is incapable ofrolling such as marbles with flat areas and other non-rolling articles.Articles incapable of rolling are engaged firmly enough by the roughsurface of the belt 14 to force them beneath the grading bar 24 byeither deflecting the belt 14 into the area of the cut-away 86 beneaththe grading bar 24 or by deflecting the grading bar 24 away from thebelt against the force of the springs which maintain its position orboth. Only the marbles are restrained by the grading bar 24 to bedeflected along the bar 24 to the feeder chute 28 from which they can befed to the melters or like type process equipment. The combination ofdriving the bottom of the marbles with the belt 14 while restraining themarbles from above with the grading bar 24 causes the marbles to rotateagainst the grading bar 24 while the angularity of the grading bar 24with respect to the direction of flow of the belt 14 causes the marblesto advance along the grading bar 24 to the feeder chute 28. At the sametime the combined rotating and sliding action of the marbles togetherwith the generally rank release of marbles from the orifice 22 resultsin the marbles being advanced along both sides of the v shaped gradingbar 24 in single file fashion which gives accurate metering of thequantity of marbles entering the feeder chute 28, i.e., one at a timemetering.

While the preferred embodiment of the above system illustrates avertically mounted separator hopper 16 in combination with a belt driveand grading bar, it will be appreciated that the concept of the systemis not limited to vertically oriented hoppers nor belt drives. Motivemeans other than gravity could be used to pass the mix throughnon-vertical hoppers, for example, a fluid drive, and other means fortransporting the articles from the hopper such as a series of shoespushed one against the other could be used.

A system has been described which improves on the methods of sortingspherical articles from a product mix and which can distinguish rollingfrom non-rolling articles. As result, half marbles and chips therefromwhich can cause jams stopping marble flow in the production of fibrousglass products are eliminated and an even quantity of glass flow to themelters is achieved. Further, foreign materials which can plug theorifices from which the melted glass is drawn are eliminated also. Thesystem and method is more efficient than the previously used grid bars.The flow is me tered at the same time that sorting takes place andmarbles are fed from the system to collection points one at a time formore accurate metering.

What we claim is:

l. A system for sorting and metering spherical articles from a mix ofmaterials including non rolling material, over and undersized articlesand elongated materials comprising:

a supply source of mix;

a collector for spherical articles;

a conveying path between said supply source and collector wherein saidcollector is downstream of said supply source;

means in said path for passing the spherical articles of the mix whilerestricting oversized articles and elongated materials of apredetermined size including a plurality of guides spaced to definenonlinear passages for the conduction of the spherical articles to anexit therefor;

transporting means having a surface located downstream of said means forpassing the mix for receiving the portion of the mix conducted throughsaid passing means at the exit of said passing means;

walls on said means for passing the mix adjacent the exit thereof, oneof said walls having a margin spaced from said transporting meanssurface a distance exceeding the diameter of the spherical articles,said margin forming an orifice for metering the flow from said means forpassing the mix to a generally single rank of spherical articlesextending across said conveying path on said transporting means; and Imeans in said conveying path and operatively associated with saidtransporting means for deflecting the spherical articles on saidsupporting means into single file to said collector.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein said transporting means is abelt, and means for driving said belt along said conveying path.

3. The system according to claim 2 wherein said belt is flexible normalto the surface thereof.

4. The system according to claim 2 wherein said belt has a surface witha large coefficient of friction.

5. The system according to claim 4 including a bed to support said beltover a portion of the surface region opposite said surface with a largecoefficient of friction.

6. The system according to claim 5 wherein said bed has a cut-away inregistry with said means for deflecting and said margin forming anorifice.

7. The system according to claim 2 whereinsaid collector for sphericalarticles is located laterally of said belt and including a collector atthe discharge end of said belt.

8. Apparatus for separating spherical articles from a mix of articles ofvarious geometric forms comprising a chute for said mix and including amaze having nonlinear paths thereof a width at least the diameter of themaximum diameter spherical article to be passed for passing the mix ofmaterials while restricting over-sized articles and elongated materialsof a predetermined size, said maze having no straight passage extendingentirely therethrough.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said chute is enclosed toform a duct.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said duct has a portionof at least two sides converging toward the center thereof.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said maze is a pluralityof nested curved guides having the adjacent guides spaced to form saidpaths as curved paths.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said guides areconcentric cylindrical segments extending in two directions from thecenter of said maze.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said segments havedischarge ends, said ends defining a line generally perpendicular tosaid converging sides adjacent said segments respectively.

14. The apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said segments havecharge ends, said charge ends being staggered on lines extending fromthe longitudinal centerline of said duct outward, and in the directioncounter to the flow through said duct.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said guides have chargeand discharge ends and are spaced such that the distance between a firstplane passing through said charge and discharge ends and a second planeparalleling said first plane and passing through the point of tangencywith the curvature of the inwardly adjacent guide thereto is slightlyless than the predetermined width of the elongated materials to beseparated from said mix.

16. The apparatus according to claim including a divider bar across theopening between said converging sides of said duct dividing the openingbetween said sides.

17. Apparatus for separating essentially spherical articles of asubstantially uniform diameter from a mix of articles includingnonspherical articles and said spherical articles, which comprises:

a. transporting means adapted to receive said spherical articles from asource thereof and to convey said received spherical articles along aconveying path to a position adjacent to a collector for said sphericalarticles;

b. said collector positioned along said conveying path and adjacent tosaid transporting means, and adapted to receive said spherical articlesfrom said transporting means;

c. a deflector bar positioned obliquely transversely across saidconveying path on said transporting means, with the shortest distancebetween the lower edge of said deflector bar and said transporting meansbeing less than said diameter of said spherical articles, and saiddeflector bar being adapted to deflect only said spherical articles fromsaid transporting means to said collector; and

. sorting means cooperating with at least one of said transporting meansand said deflector bar such that in response to the contact of anonspherical article simultaneously with both said deflector bar andsaid transporting means, said sorting means provides means of movementto at least one of said deflector bar and said transporting means toincrease said shortest distance between said transporting means and saidlower edge of said deflector bar, whereby said nonspherical articleremains on said conveyor means, passes said deflector bar, and is notdeflected into said collector.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17 wherein said bar is V" shapedwith the apex of the V" directed into the flow ofmix.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17 wherein said sorting meanscomprises spring loaded means to allow deflection of said bar normal tosaid transporting means, and outwardly therefrom.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19 wherein said bar is generallyrectangular with the corner facing in the direction of conveyance ofsaid transporting means and adjacent thereto chamfered, whereby thearticles engaging said bar and passing thereunder are given quick relieffrom said bar in moving away therefrom.

21. The apparatus according to claim 17 wherein said transporting meansis a belt, and means for driving said belt along said conveying path.

22. The apparatus according to claim 21 wherein said belt has a surfacewith a large coefficient of friction.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22 including a bed to support saidbelt over a portion of the surface region opposite said surface with alarge coefficient of friction.

24. The apparatus according to claim 17 wherein said sorting meanscomprises a cutaway region in registry with said bar.

25. The apparatus according to claim 18 including a divider bar havingits length parallel to the conveying path and aligned with the apex ofthe V of the deflecting bar, said divider bar being located in saidorifice whereby spherical articles are prevented from issuing from saidorifice in alignment, along the conveying path with said apex.

26. A system for sorting and metering spherical articles from a mix ofmaterials including non-rolling material, over and undersized articlesand elongated materials, having a supply bin, trough and blast gate aswell as feeder and reject chutes, and comprising:

a hopper having walls open at the top and bottom thereof having a seriesof cylindrical segments with charge and discharge ends nested and spacedacross the flow path of said hoppers thereby forming curved paths suchthat the distance between a first plane passing through said charge anddischarge ends of each segment and a second plane paralleling said firstplane and passing through the point of tangency with the curvature ofthe inwardly adjacent segment thereto is slightly less than thepredetermined width of the elongated material to be restrained frompassing along said paths;

a rough surfaced flexible driven belt for transporting the mix ofmaterials at the bottom of said hopper, said belt being located beneathsaid bottom hopper opening with the clearance between said hopper andsaid belt surface being less than the diameter of said sphericalarticles; v

said hopper wall facing the direction of drive of said belt having anaperture at the bottom thereof the margin of which is spaced from saidbelt a distance greater than the diameter of said spherical articles formetering the flow from said hopper to a single rank of said sphericalarticles;

v" shaped grading bar centered above said belt surface with a clearanceless than the diameter of said spherical articles, said bar beinglocated downstream of said orifice in the direction of drive of saidbelt and extending over the longitudinal margins of said beltterminating above the feeder chute for deflecting said sphericalarticles into the feeder chute; and

a bed supporting said belt having a cutaway region in the areas beneathsaid grading bar and said aperture margin to allow said belt to deflectin passing 11 12 oversized articles through said aperture and nonsupplysource in generally a single rank; rolling material beneath said gradingbar. d. transporting said spherical articles away from the 27. In asystem for sorting and metering spherical armetering i ticles from a mixof materials including non-rolling artid fl i said Spherical tides byangagememgat cles, elongated materials, and undersized material, the anupper surface; and method comprlsmg the steps of: f. simultaneouslyseparating said spherical articles a. passing the mix of materialsthrough curved paths having radii of curvature to restrain the flow ofelongated material therethrough, while passing the remainder of the mix;

b. directing the remainder of the mix to a metering point;

c. metering said spherical articles received from a from said mix ofmaterials while advancing said spherical articles in single file obliqueto the I direction of said transporting to a collection point by causinga rolling and sliding action of said spherical articles when deflectingsaid articles.

1. A system for sorting and metering spherical articles from a mix ofmaterials including non rolling material, over and undersized articlesand elongated materials comprising: a supply source of mix; a collectorfor spherical articles; a conveying path between said supply source andcollector wherein said collector is downstream of said supply source;means in said path for passing the spherical articles of the mix whilerestricting oversized articles and elongated materials of apredetermined size including a plurality of guides spaced to definenon-linear passages for the conduction of the spherical articles to anexit therefor; transporting means having a surface located downstream ofsaid means for passing the mix for receiving the portion of the mixconducted through said passing means at the exit of said passing means;walls on said means for passing the mix adjacent the exit thereof, oneof said walls having a margin spaced from said transporting meanssurface a distance exceeding the diameter of the spherical articles,said margin forming an orifice for metering the flow from said means forpassing the mix to a generally single rank of spherical articlesextending across said conveying path on said transporting means; andmeans in said conveying path and operatively associated with saidtransporting means for deflecting the spherical articles on saidsupporting means into single file to said collector.
 2. The systemaccording to claim 1 wherein said transporting means is a belt, andmeans for driving said belt along said conveying path.
 3. The systemaccording to claim 2 wherein said belt is flexible normal to the surfacethereof.
 4. The system according to claim 2 wherein said belt has asurface with a large coefficient of friction.
 5. The system according toclaim 4 including a bed to support said belt over a portion of thesurface region opposite said surface with a large coefficient offriction.
 6. The system according to claim 5 wherein said bed has acut-away in registry with said means for deflecting and said marginforming an orifice.
 7. The system according to claim 2 wherein saidcollector for spherical articles is located laterally of said belt andincluding a collector at the discharge end of said belt.
 8. Apparatusfor separating spherical articles from a mix of articles of variousgeometric forms comprising a chute for said mix and including a mazehaving non-linear paths thereof a width at least the diameter of themaximum diameter spherical article to be passed for passing the mix ofmaterials while restricting over-sized articles and elongated materialsof a predetermined size, said maze having no straight passage extendingentirely therethrough.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 8 whereinsaid chute is enclosed to form a duct.
 10. The apparatus according toclaim 9 wherein said duct has a portion oF at least two sides convergingtoward the center thereof.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 10wherein said maze is a plurality of nested curved guides having theadjacent guides spaced to form said paths as curved paths.
 12. Theapparatus according to claim 11 wherein said guides are concentriccylindrical segments extending in two directions from the center of saidmaze.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said segments havedischarge ends, said ends defining a line generally perpendicular tosaid converging sides adjacent said segments respectively.
 14. Theapparatus according to claim 12 wherein said segments have charge ends,said charge ends being staggered on lines extending from thelongitudinal centerline of said duct outward, and in the directioncounter to the flow through said duct.
 15. The apparatus according toclaim 11 wherein said guides have charge and discharge ends and arespaced such that the distance between a first plane passing through saidcharge and discharge ends and a second plane paralleling said firstplane and passing through the point of tangency with the curvature ofthe inwardly adjacent guide thereto is slightly less than thepredetermined width of the elongated materials to be separated from saidmix.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 10 including a divider baracross the opening between said converging sides of said duct dividingthe opening between said sides.
 17. Apparatus for separating essentiallyspherical articles of a substantially uniform diameter from a mix ofarticles including nonspherical articles and said spherical articles,which comprises: a. transporting means adapted to receive said sphericalarticles from a source thereof and to convey said received sphericalarticles along a conveying path to a position adjacent to a collectorfor said spherical articles; b. said collector positioned along saidconveying path and adjacent to said transporting means, and adapted toreceive said spherical articles from said transporting means; c. adeflector bar positioned obliquely transversely across said conveyingpath on said transporting means, with the shortest distance between thelower edge of said deflector bar and said transporting means being lessthan said diameter of said spherical articles, and said deflector barbeing adapted to deflect only said spherical articles from saidtransporting means to said collector; and d. sorting means cooperatingwith at least one of said transporting means and said deflector bar suchthat in response to the contact of a nonspherical article simultaneouslywith both said deflector bar and said transporting means, said sortingmeans provides means of movement to at least one of said deflector barand said transporting means to increase said shortest distance betweensaid transporting means and said lower edge of said deflector bar,whereby said nonspherical article remains on said conveyor means, passessaid deflector bar, and is not deflected into said collector.
 18. Theapparatus according to claim 17 wherein said bar is ''''V'''' shapedwith the apex of the ''''V'''' directed into the flow of mix.
 19. Theapparatus according to claim 17 wherein said sorting means comprisesspring loaded means to allow deflection of said bar normal to saidtransporting means, and outwardly therefrom.
 20. The apparatus accordingto claim 19 wherein said bar is generally rectangular with the cornerfacing in the direction of conveyance of said transporting means andadjacent thereto chamfered, whereby the articles engaging said bar andpassing thereunder are given quick relief from said bar in moving awaytherefrom.
 21. The apparatus according to claim 17 wherein saidtransporting means is a belt, and means for driving said belt along saidconveying path.
 22. The apparatus according to claim 21 wherein saidbelt has a surface with a large coefficient of friction.
 23. Theapparatus according to claim 22 including a bed to Support said beltover a portion of the surface region opposite said surface with a largecoefficient of friction.
 24. The apparatus according to claim 17 whereinsaid sorting means comprises a cutaway region in registry with said bar.25. The apparatus according to claim 18 including a divider bar havingits length parallel to the conveying path and aligned with the apex ofthe V of the deflecting bar, said divider bar being located in saidorifice whereby spherical articles are prevented from issuing from saidorifice in alignment, along the conveying path with said apex.
 26. Asystem for sorting and metering spherical articles from a mix ofmaterials including non-rolling material, over and undersized articlesand elongated materials, having a supply bin, trough and blast gate aswell as feeder and reject chutes, and comprising: a hopper having wallsopen at the top and bottom thereof having a series of cylindricalsegments with charge and discharge ends nested and spaced across theflow path of said hoppers thereby forming curved paths such that thedistance between a first plane passing through said charge and dischargeends of each segment and a second plane paralleling said first plane andpassing through the point of tangency with the curvature of the inwardlyadjacent segment thereto is slightly less than the predetermined widthof the elongated material to be restrained from passing along saidpaths; a rough surfaced flexible driven belt for transporting the mix ofmaterials at the bottom of said hopper, said belt being located beneathsaid bottom hopper opening with the clearance between said hopper andsaid belt surface being less than the diameter of said sphericalarticles; said hopper wall facing the direction of drive of said belthaving an aperture at the bottom thereof the margin of which is spacedfrom said belt a distance greater than the diameter of said sphericalarticles for metering the flow from said hopper to a single rank of saidspherical articles; a ''''v'''' shaped grading bar centered above saidbelt surface with a clearance less than the diameter of said sphericalarticles, said bar being located downstream of said orifice in thedirection of drive of said belt and extending over the longitudinalmargins of said belt terminating above the feeder chute for deflectingsaid spherical articles into the feeder chute; and a bed supporting saidbelt having a cutaway region in the areas beneath said grading bar andsaid aperture margin to allow said belt to deflect in passing oversizedarticles through said aperture and non-rolling material beneath saidgrading bar.
 27. In a system for sorting and metering spherical articlesfrom a mix of materials including non-rolling articles, elongatedmaterials, and undersized material, the method comprising the steps of:a. passing the mix of materials through curved paths having radii ofcurvature to restrain the flow of elongated material therethrough, whilepassing the remainder of the mix; b. directing the remainder of the mixto a metering point; c. metering said spherical articles received from asupply source in generally a single rank; d. transporting said sphericalarticles away from the metering point; e. deflecting said sphericalarticles by engagement at an upper surface; and f. simultaneouslyseparating said spherical articles from said mix of materials whileadvancing said spherical articles in single file oblique to thedirection of said transporting to a collection point by causing arolling and sliding action of said spherical articles when deflectingsaid articles.